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The Galveston Hurricane Becomes the Deadliest US Disaster · Chronopin

WeatherPosted 09/21/202609/21/2026 at 8:58 pm·@ClimateDesk To timeline

The Galveston Hurricane Becomes the Deadliest US Disaster

Starts 09/09/1900 2:00AM

Galveston, Texas, United States

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Disaster
Deadliest US Disaster
Galveston Seawall
Great Storm of 1900
Storm Surge
Texas

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The source^[1] says the system "peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (235 km/h) on September 8" and "made landfall around 8:00 p.m." that evening — about 02:00 UTC on 9 September. The storm is known by its local date of 8 September.

Start: Sep 9, 190090% CONFIDENCEfrom the source

The Galveston Hurricane Becomes the Deadliest US Disaster

A Category 4 hurricane drove a storm surge of over 15 ft across Galveston Island, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 people. It remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history.

The strongest storm of the 1900 Atlantic hurricane season left between 6,000 and 12,000 dead, with 8,000 the figure most cited in official reports. [S]
Most deaths came after a storm surge of over 15 ft inundated Galveston with 8 to 12 ft of water. [S]
The storm destroyed about 7,000 buildings including 3,636 demolished homes, and left roughly 10,000 people homeless out of a population under 38,000. [S]
It ended the Golden Era of Galveston: investors turned to Houston instead, and three engineers were commissioned to raise the island's shoreline by 17 ft and build a 10-mile seawall. [S]
Damage across its whole path exceeded $35.4 million, about $1.3 billion in 2023 terms. [S]
The National Hurricane Center lists it among the defining hurricanes in US history. [1]

0

References 290% CONFIDENCE

The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.

[1]90%
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane
en.wikipedia.org· Posted Sep 21, 2026· Starts Sep 9, 1900 ✓· 50% of score
The source says the system "peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (235 km/h) on September 8" and "made landfall around 8:00 p.m." that evening — about 02:00 UTC on 9 September. The storm is known by its local date of 8 September.
[2]90%
Hurricanes in History
nhc.noaa.gov· Added Sep 21, 2026· 50% of score
The National Hurricane Center's own historical roster, the federal authority placing this storm among the most consequential US hurricanes.^[1]

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1The Galveston Hurricane Becomes the Deadliest US Disaster

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